NIKUMARORO, Kiribati — The Taraia Object expedition, a joint effort by the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI), Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue University, announced Monday, Oct. 19, local time that it found no conclusive evidence to confirm a hypothesis that wreckage from Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E was in a lagoon on a remote atoll in the South Pacific. Nikumaroro is 17 hours ahead of Eastern time in the U.S.
Evidence gathered at the Taraia Peninsula on Nikumaroro confirmed that the visual anomaly first seen in satellite imagery in 2020 was likely a collection of large trees deposited along the peninsula’s sandspit. By the time the team arrived at the site, a good portion of the debris had fragmented and washed away, leaving only a single Y-shaped segment — a fraction of the anomaly’s original size observed in imagery when the Taraia Object hypothesis was developed.
The fragment’s reflective surface, long associated with the idea that the object was a metallic substance, was due to its carbonate veneer. Other items found by the team were similarly coated with a shiny concretized amalgam of coral sand.
“Amelia Earhart’s spirit of courage and curiosity drove every step of the search,” said Rick Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director. “We accomplished our goal to determine what the Taraia Object was, and we’re deeply grateful to the private donors who shared our vision and made this journey possible. Our team remains in great spirits and proud of what was accomplished.”
On July 2, 1937, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan left Lae, Papua New Guinea, on the third-to-last leg of her round-the-world flight attempt, and were heading to Howland Island, about 400 miles northwest of Nikumaroro, when the pair disappeared. The U.S. launched one of the largest air-sea searches in history, spending two weeks scouring an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Texas.
Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, affectionately known as her “Flying Laboratory,” was purchased with funds from the Purdue Research Foundation. Earhart intended to return the plane to Purdue upon completion of her flight.
“Perhaps no words better capture this expedition than Amelia Earhart’s own: ‘Adventure is worthwhile in itself,’” said Steve Schultz, Purdue general counsel and expedition member. “We set out to test a hypothesis, not to guarantee a particular result, and we followed the evidence to the end. While the Taraia Object did not prove to be what we hoped, the journey produced new discoveries, added to the world’s knowledge of Nikumaroro, and wrote another extraordinary chapter in a story of discovery and exploration.”
The Taraia Object expedition did find numerous artifacts through both maritime and terrestrial archaeology efforts, including a steel tube about 30 inches long discovered in the lagoon near the Taraia Peninsula. Those discoveries will continue to be studied as they may provide additional evidence for a core premise behind the Taraia Object hypothesis: Objects entering the lagoon through the Tatiman Passage, the atoll’s natural channel to the Pacific on its western side, can travel across the lagoon and become deposited along the Taraia Peninsula, which functions as a catchment area directly opposite the passage.
While the expedition did not uncover the “smoking gun” connecting Earhart to Nikumaroro, the team reiterated its collective belief in the broader castaway hypothesis. Developed by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery since the 1980s, the theory holds that Earhart and Noonan did not crash into the sea, but rather landed on the reef flat of the remote atoll and were marooned there.
Making a compelling case for the castaway hypothesis is a large body of evidence based on documentary records, photographs and satellite images, physical artifacts, and personal testimony, including these highlights:
- Radio bearings recorded from transmissions at the time by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and Pan American World Airways, which converge on Nikumaroro
- A 2018 analysis of human bones discovered on the island in 1940, strongly suggesting they belong to a woman of Earhart’s stature
- Artifacts found on Nikumaroro including a woman’s shoe, a compact case, a freckle cream jar and a medicine vial — all dating to the 1930s
- The Bevington Object, a photographic anomaly on the Nikumaroro reef captured three months after the plane’s disappearance, which appears to represent the Electra’s landing gear
The Taraia Object expedition launched from Tarawa in the Republic of Kiribati on Oct. 6. The team traveled five days by sea to Nikumaroro. The expedition was extended due to weather, with the crew spending seven days near Nikumaroro, including four days onshore setting up field operations and conducting investigative work.
Though the team did not find the wreckage, the mission only deepens the resolve, and adds a new chapter, in the quest to find the ultimate answer to the mystery of what happened to Earhart and Noonan during their attempt to circumnavigate the globe nearly nine decades ago.
Purdue University, where Earhart served as a pioneering counselor and mentor to young women, has pledged to continue the search. During her tenure, Earhart helped shape the university’s aviation program and inspired generations through her advocacy and trailblazing spirit. Long recognized as one of the nation’s premier institutions for training pilots, aviation managers and aerospace professionals, Purdue continues to honor Earhart’s enduring impact.
“Amelia Earhart never gave up — she kept pushing boundaries and flying into the unknown,” Schultz said. “That same fire fuels our search. She kept flying, and we will keep searching.”
The Taraia Object expedition team included:
- Rick Pettigrew, ALI, project director
- Steve Schultz, Purdue general counsel, field assistant
- Laura Kennedy, ALI, technology specialist
- Philippa Jorissen, ALI, terrestrial archaeologist
- Ren LaRocca, ALI, assistant
- Sirisha Bandla, Purdue alumna, technology specialist
- Marc Hagle, Purdue alumnus, field assistant
- Meere Kenana, curator, Kiribati Culture and Museum, Kiribati representative
- Agnes Naare, Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development, Kiribati representative
- Heidi Boraia-Tangata, Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development, Kiribati representative
- Michael Krivor, RECON Offshore, maritime archaeologist
- William Wilson, RECON Offshore, maritime archaeologist
- Aaron Arrants, medic and safety officer
- Helmut Schleppi, filmmaker
- Ella Van Cleave, filmmaker
- David Pearson, filmmaker
- Matt Maddaloni, filmmaker
The expedition was supported by Columbia Sportswear, DHL Express, Fiji Airways, Kiribati National Shipping Line, the Niswonger Foundation, Bulova and RECON Offshore, along with additional organizations providing financial, operational, logistical, technical, philanthropic, diplomatic and in-kind support, including Alvantor, Arrants Expeditions, Brownie’s Third Lung, Forestry Suppliers, GreenGood Labs, The Museum of Flight, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Randolph USA and Tricor.
About Archaeological Legacy Institute
Archaeological Legacy Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Eugene, Oregon, and organized to share the human cultural heritage widely through the use of cutting-edge media technology. ALI’s core project is The Archaeology Channel ( a free streaming-media website featuring video and audio programs on archaeology, indigenous peoples and cultural heritage. This combines with news site Archaeologica.org, the social media site ArchaeoSeek.com, and subscription video-on-demand platform Heritage Broadcasting Service (heritagetac.org) to form a unique constellation of online services and resources for those keen to learn about and enjoy cultural-heritage information, events, programming and discussions. Through The Archaeology Channel Tours, ALI also organizes in-person group visits to significant cultural heritage sites worldwide, which have included Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Newgrange, Persepolis, Carnac, the Ness of Brodgar, the Malta prehistoric temples and many others.
About Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation
Purdue University is a research institution ranked among the top 10 public universities in the United States. The Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) is a private nonprofit operating as a separate entity to advance the university’s mission. Purdue is committed to affordability and accessibility with more than 111,000 students studying at Purdue across multiple campuses. PRF operates Purdue Innovates, including the Office of Technology Commercialization, Incubator and Ventures, as well as managing Purdue Research Park, Discovery Park District at Purdue, Purdue Technology Centers and the Purdue for Life Foundation.
Note to journalists:
Additional Amelia Earhart expedition photos and video are available in the media kit.